A segment from my book: My experiences with Aliens, and other Realities. Dr JS Chiappalone MD PhD.

www.drjc.org dr.jc@austarnet.com.au

SCIENCE AND DEATH

Many scientists are no less ridiculous in their assertions. While most doctors denied existence of the soul because they had been unable to find it at post-mortem or while operating on people, scientists have, publicly at any rate, denied the existence of "God" or an afterlife or any such thing as an evil essence because they have been able to propose laws which do away with any need for evil or a creator. The late Carl Sagan and the still-living demon, Stephen Hawking, have been the eminent proponents of such a view.

They forget how limited their laws are, and how they themselves have had to admit that all concepts of Physics and Science are based on theories and propositions which can never be proven. It is a great assumption that things are the way they are. But of course things are not as they appear, as any book on Quantum mechanics, Quantum observations and theories will amply demonstrate.

This non-belief in a spiritual aspect of our existence can have deleterious effects, while belief can greatly enhance one's existence. Later, I give examples to illustrate these points. Because all of humanity is about to die very soon, I thought it relevant to include this discussion on death here. On the topic of physical death I have noted, especially since the "Heaven's Gate" episode in March 1997, that there is a gross lack of understanding in the general community of the meaning of physical death in metaphysical and spiritual terms, and this ignorance has compounded fears in the general population and has caused, and continues to cause, a decrease in the quality of life among many. I feel that the fear of death which is ever-present in the community and constantly in the minds of many, particularly the elderly, can be dispelled with the proper knowledge.

There are few things more dramatic than the effects of a close personal encounter with death and the fear it engenders in those people who have little apparent reason, or apparent opportunity, to prepare for such an encounter. The effects of that fear are often devastating to the quality of life of those affected.

Because of these things, I feel that not just my views, but recent metaphysical, spiritual and scientific breakthroughs on this topic should be made part of the educational curriculums and part of disseminated general knowledge. These will allow a full understanding of this process of physical death in metaphysical and spiritual terms, indeed, in scientific terms, also.

It is my belief, as supported by published data, that the acquisition of such knowledge will have a profoundly beneficial effect on the quality of life of all people who truly understand the concept and occurrence of physical death as defined in the terms of metaphysical science. There are ample examples in the literature of all cultures to support the 3 points I am making here. The 3 points are these:

1 The fear of death traumatises the greater part of humanity and causes many unwanted problems. It reduces the quality of life of individuals. And this is because society, generally speaking, has been negligent in its education of people regarding this aspect of their lives.

2 There is abundant anecdotal, historical, metaphysical, philosophical, psychiatric and scientific evidence, which is increasing daily, of the continuation of consciousness after physical death. There is enough, in fact, to silence all the fear-harbouring sceptics and agnostics who, in reality, seem to fear death far more than those they attack relentlessly.

3 Surveys of those who have suffered episodes which have been labelled "Near Death experiences" and "Out-Of-Body experiences" are being published regularly and they clearly demonstrate the loss of fear of physical death in these experiencers who acquire an understanding of the metaphysical and spiritual significance of dropping the outer shell, that is, of dying physically, and of undergoing a natural process which, I believe, we have all undergone many times due to the process of reincarnation.

I have met people who boldly declared that they were not afraid of dying. But in many of these, when they approached death's door, I witnessed an unwelcome and involuntary change, and most were reduced to trembling, frightened children wanting reassurance from someone, anyone, that they would be all right. Their bravado was false and deserted them in their hour of need. The most egotistical suffered all the more as they wrestled their fear in silence. Egotistical pseudo-courage in the face of death is useless. Death can only be faced with the proper knowledge which gives faith, confidence and joy. Fear of physical death has prompted the massive expense of the Black Budget in the USA, as those in power try to find ways (such as described in their "Alternative Projects") to remain physically alive as the planet dies. Of course they will be unable to succeed.

With proper knowledge, fear is transmuted into true awareness and acceptance of a natural process. The greatly illuminating advances in thanatology due to the investigations of the last 30 years have hardly had any beneficial effects on the members of the general community. It is time that the general public derived the benefits which are available.

I found ample evidence in my own personal life, in my medical practice, in the accounts of others and in the literature, for the belief that there was a problem in society caused by the ignorance of the true significance of physical death, and I found that this caused much sorrow, pain and grief. I have also found ample evidence for the belief in the continuation of consciousness, when the body dies, in many general, religious, historical, and scientific sources.

We have been blessed in this generation with a great deal of evidence (apart from the personal experiences we are describing) which allows those of us who wish to do so, to conclude that consciousness does, in fact, continue after physical death. This, in my view, fulfils the ancient prophecy that there would occur a "generation which would not know death".

All true spiritual Masters have said that consciousness is distinct from the physical and survives death of the body. The Biblical Prophets of old said this, as did Jesus Himself. Hence, why do some doubt that it should be so, especially after an examination of the evidence which is available from medical research and other investigations of this generation?

The fear of death, which is the fear of permanent loss, of permanent separation, fear of the unknown, often caused by indoctrinated untruths, is a reality in people's lives. The first 4 stages in the death process as described by Kubler-Ross (1970) are all due to fear. It is my belief that they can be bypassed.

We all know too well the fear of death and what it can do. No one would deny its existence and the havoc it can cause. Just as all ancient sacred texts talk about the survival of consciousness beyond physical death, all religions base their concept of the soul as that entity which outlives the body. All cultures have references to Near Death experiences and the survival of consciousness.

a. The historian Frederick Holck has reported examples from South America, Russia, South Asia, China, India, from Jewish and Islamic literature, and so on. He concludes they are part of the wealth of experiences of the human race in general.

b. Neville Randall's book (1980) exposes the similarity of Near Death Experiences world-wide.

c. Psalm 23, taken from Egyptian mysticism (the cult of Osiris) avers to the eternal existence of consciousness for it ends thus: " ... I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

d. The Bible, a conglomeration of myths, distortions, truths and half-truths mixed to cause confusion and deception, had many lessons including reincarnation. But few are aware that in 553 AD, the Council of Constantinople outlawed belief in Reincarnation for Christians. References to Reincarnation were removed by the church following this Second Council of Constantinople in 553 AD, a long, long time after the original gospels were supposed to have been written. The decree stated that: "Whosoever shall support the mythical doctrine of the pre-existence of the Soul and the consequent wonderful opinion of its return, let him be anathema." Hence, the belief in Reincarnation which was, and is, part of almost all other religious beliefs and mythologies around the world, and was included in the Gnostic writings of Plato, only became heretical 5 centuries after Jesus. Despite the fact that reincarnation was outlawed in the Christian church by this Council, there are numerous passages in the extant bibles which not only suggest the continuation of consciousness after physical death but also suggest reincarnation of that consciousness.

i Thus, the Apostles reported to Jesus that many thought that Jesus was Elijah, or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets (Matt 16:13).

ii Even Jesus said that Elijah would reincarnate, (Matthew 17:11) confirming reincarnation as a valid process.

iii In John 9:2, the Apostles asked Jesus whether the congenitally blind man was blind due to his sinning (in a previous life) or due to the sinning of his parents (karma for the parents, also?)

iv Jesus promised the Apostles he would go to prepare a place for them. He did not say: "If there is a possibility that you will survive physical death I might see you."

v He had also promised Paradise for the repentant thief at Calvary.

By the way, I am in no way endorsing the validity of the Bible by referring to it in this context. The reference is merely to demonstrate that the concept of reincarnation, which the evil-inspired plagiarisers and distorters of texts tried to eradicate in formulating a "Bible" which best suited their evil purposes, was still represented in the version now mendaciously served up as the Word of "God".

e. The Koran describes astral states for the faithful ones. Such rewards are for the consciousness after physical death. Their survival is taken as an article of faith without dispute.

f. Gnosticism is adamant about the soul surviving the physical death. Manichaeism speaks of the liberation of the soul from its physical prison, as do Orphism and Zoroasterism.

g. The Buddhist soul seeks Nirvana after surviving physical death, and for the Tibetans, the soul is guided in its after-life travels by the lessons of the Bardo Thodol (the Tibetan Book of the Dead) compiled and edited by W.Y. Evans-Wentz (1960).

h. Hinduism concerns itself with the journeys of the soul in and out of bodies. In the version of the Ramayana, also called "The Philosophy of Humanity", translated by Swami Chidbhavanabda (1982), fighting factions in humanity are described, with the wicked eventually going to damnation and the virtuous to eternal bliss. However, they all survive physical death.

i. Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (1969) urges Arjuna to kill his enemy, for that was his duty as a soldier. He went further and explained the total insignificance of the physical expression. Krishna alludes to the insignificance of the physical in His discourse with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita as these extracts demonstrate: "These bodies, which act as enveloping coverings for the souls occupying them, are but finite things of the moment ... They perish as all finite things perish. He who in his ignorance thinketh: "I slay" or "I am slain" babbleth like an infant lacking knowledge ... How can a man commit the folly of thinking that he can either kill; cause to kill; or be killed himself? ... Be self-centred and uncontrolled by the illusions of the finite world. When thou shalt rise beyond the plane of illusion, then shalt thou cease to disturb thyself regarding doctrines, theology, disputations concerning rites or ceremonies, and other useless trimmings upon the cloth of spiritual thought ... You will be liberated from those who would interpret that which they fail themselves to understand; but instead, shalt thou fix thy mind in earnest contemplation of the Spirit, and thus reach the harmony with thy Real Self ... That which seemeth real to the men of the sense-world is known to be illusion by the Sage. Knowing the whole Truth, thou shouldst beware of unsettling the minds of those not yet prepared to grasp it, as untimely teaching may drive from their work such as see only half-Truths, and become unsettled thereby."

In another passage He says: "Many lives, Arjuna, you and I have lived; I remember them all, but thou dost not." Why would a Divine Avatar want to lie?

j. Plato, in his Republic, recounts, through the eyes of a soldier called Er, who experiences a prolonged episode of Near Death Experience, how the souls in the astral planes are apportioned new life in new bodies and also suffer various rewards and admonitions.

k. Swedenborg, threatened on his death bed by the local bishop with the fires of Hell, refused to recant the story of his astral visions which gave credence to consciousness existing outside the physical body. His refusal was based on faith and actual experience.

l. The Apotheosis ritual of the Ancient Egyptians and other cultures, so mocked by the decadent churches of the Dark Ages, celebrated the flight of the soul of the deceased imminent personage to the astral plane. They had no doubt the soul survived physical death.

Indeed, in the Egyptian Book of the dead, the surviving consciousness was given instructions for progress after the body died.

m. And so it is that I think even Shakespeare, as well as many other writers, were trying to educate the masses with their entertaining plays. Shakespeare is a special example because he recalled Archetypal Syndromes when he referred to after-life identities, the supernatural and psychic phenomena, as in Hamlet, in Macbeth, in the Tempest and other plays. It would be ungracious and demeaning to think he created these aspects of his plays just for entertainment. I think he was using the broadened reality within his psyche to assist in the expansion of our own awareness.

n. The greatest body of evidence comes from the immensely fruitful thanatological work of our own generation. Modern researchers such as Drs. Moody, Wambach, Sabom and Stevenson have independently published results of investigations which allow one to conclude that the consciousness is a separate and capably-independent entity. It survives death of the physical body.

i Dr. I. Stevenson demonstrated the history of consciousness away from the body, before and after death of the physical.

ii Dr. Moody published information on the travel of consciousness to other realms and dimensions in cases called Near Death experiences.

iii Dr. Sabom did likewise and noted experiencers' loss of fear.

iv The psychologist Wambach in 1979 published results of hypnotic inductions which allowed hundreds of patients to relate the existence of their consciousnesses between physical lives.

v Dr. Rawlings, a clinical cardiologist, wrote on the traumatising and unexpected Near Death Experiences in his patients who then told him of conditions of the consciousness once the body is left behind. He presents a different view of the eventual conditions experienced by many consciousnesses after death, but nonetheless these episodes, different as they may be, demonstrate the continuity of consciousness.

vi Kenneth Ring accumulated data from many Near Death experiencers, and they relate conditions in other planes and changes to occur on this one. His conclusions raise the possibility of other levels of consciousness having plans for the collective consciousness of humanity (and this is confirmed, of course, by the alien factor we are revealing here). This concept of other dimensions and levels of consciousness is now an established possibility in the minds of many people, including quantum physicists, as explained by Fred Wolf in his book "Parallel Universes" (1990).

vii Melvin Morse confirmed the occurrence of Near Death Experiences in toddlers and children.

Most of these medical investigators have eliminated physical conditions such as anoxia, carbon dioxide accumulation, the effects of drugs, a degenerating brain, etc., as being the reasons for the occurrence of the remarkable experiences of the consciousness. Physiological, pharmacological, neurological and psychological explanations have all been eliminated as the cause of Near Death Experiences which demonstrate the continuation of the consciousness after physical death.

It is worth noting that those who experience Out-Of-Body episodes describe seeing articles and incidences that were out of the field of vision of their bodies, thus eliminating simple mechanical vision as being the reason for their extended sight.

Those who awaken and relate their experiences in these Near Death Experiences often claim they have met dead people and have identified some whose existence they were not aware of and could not have been aware of in the physical. Examples abound. Hence, it is reported that they met siblings who had died before the patient was born and they had never been told about them.

This contradicts one of the explanations for such experiences given by sceptics, and that is that such experiences are a final pleasant experience the brain gives itself as it is in the last stages of death. But how could the brain acquire information, which it had never received, to include in this final experience? It is impossible to be a function of the brain alone. Besides, the work of Dr. Rawlings, and others, demonstrates that this final brain replay may not be a pleasant experience in all cases. In many, it is hellish. Hence, why would the brain want to frighten itself to death? The explanation is that the experiences are of the consciousness and not of the brain.

And finally, it may be added that if these experiences were the last fling of a brain in its final stages, why are people, who experience them, often perfect (or better than before the experience) in their cerebration once resuscitated, and why do they even show increased awareness and brain function?

Surely, if these experiences were of a dying brain it would show evidence of destruction and malfunction on resuscitation! The suggestion of similarity in those of similar culture and religion can be explained, I feel, by the fact that the brain interprets its experiences in the language (programming) which it has in that lifetime. Hence, a Christian would relate to Jesus and the Saints, a Muslim to Mohammed, a buddhist to Buddha, etc.

Kubler-Ross in her 1970 pioneering book exposes the paradox that as society has hidden death from general view by denying it, religions have lost their believers in a life after death. This has compounded humanity's fears, not lessened them. She then lists 5 stages in the process of dying as: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. But, with proper knowledge and understanding of what physical life and death are about, these stages and their inherent fears and trauma do not have to be experienced.

Carl Parrish-Harra (1989) and Cherie Sutherland (1992) and many, many others have demonstrated the obvious benefits to be derived from acceptance of the knowledge of life after physical death. They aver repeatedly to the tremendous improvement in the quality of life that occurs to many who accept this knowledge and to those in their lives who are also touched by their faith and freedom from fears. Sutherland's title says it clearly: "Transformed by the Light!"

Sabom (1981) wrote about the marked decrease in the fear of death in Near Death Experiences. And Sutherland reported that in her series there was a universal belief in life after death and a movement towards the belief in reincarnation after the Near Death Experience (1992, p230).

Often there is a change of direction in life, for the better, and this improves the quality of life. People reassess their values, their lives, their priorities. They become less materialistic, more loving, more sharing, more giving, of more service, more aware of the needs of others, etc. I repeat, it is my contention that these attributes can be taught without the need to have traumatic and dramatic Near Death Experiences. These thoughts become of extreme importance, in my opinion, now that all of humanity faces certain physical extinction, as do all "living" things!

Benjamin Franklin is credited with the saying that there are only 2 certainties in life, Death and Taxes. While the latter is a nuisance and sometimes a burden to many, it is death that is the great inevitability which provokes the greatest fear, anxiety, depression, sorrow and grief in most people who do not have a proper understanding of the metaphysical and spiritual significance of physical death. I believe we can help change all that.

As a doctor, I became acutely aware of the unpreparedness of the general community for the inevitable. This unpreparedness disturbed me. I had just started my own practice when one afternoon I was called urgently to the house of one of my patients. When I arrived I was met by a weeping 74 year old woman who sadly said: "He is gone doctor. I am now all alone. What am I to do?" There was nothing I could say or do to console her. Her 79 year old husband had died before I got there. Her acute pain, sorrow and grief were real enough, and as I looked at her I realised she would have to resolve these in order to continue living. She was numbed by the experience, as many are at that moment. And then the thought struck me.

Had this woman, who had lived 74 years, been negligent in not preparing for such an inevitable eventuality? Was she ignorant of events in life or was she just stupid? Why had she, at her age and in view of her husband's age, not prepared herself earlier and better for death's visitation? Later, I realised I was naive to blame the individuals, for as I noted that this process repeated itself with monotonous regularity, I realised that people like this widow were victims of an ignorant, uncaring, stupid, negligent society which had really done little to prepare them and ease their suffering in a formal way. We are collectively at that stage now.

At other times I often heard: "But doctor, I don't want to die." "But doctor, I don't want my father to die", and many other similar pleadings and supplications, in my life and medical practice. I have no doubt that these exclamations arose out of egotistical selfishness and the ignorance of the meaning of death. They occurred especially when a grave diagnosis was a possibility.

Many patients attend a doctor's surgery with fear and trepidation (caused by the unexpressed but obviously present fear of death) when they have symptoms that may be of a serious disease and they pray lest the lump in the breast is cancer, or that the bleeding is cancer, or that the chest pain is the beginning of a fatal heart attack, and so on.

As a doctor, I noted that the fear of death was a constant companion of those with undiagnosed medical problems of a possibly serious nature.

I have the mental vision of many young women with breast lumps attending for consultation while their anxieties and open fear of death weighed down their very words as they spoke. Many others were unable to disguise their fear of cancer in their anxieties about a persistent cough, or overt bleeding, or an enlarged gland, etc., etc., for cancer in their minds was a sentence of death. The very word sent shivers of fear into many patients who sought advice, and I learnt early on to avoid using it in my discussion with them.

The relief patients demonstrated, and their unashamed joy and happiness, in receiving a clean bill of health after biopsies, extensive tests, etc., were marvels to behold in contrast to their previous appearance when they were racked with uncertainty, or worse still, threatened by the fear of death. This is the turn-around we all must make in our thinking now, as we reveal that the planet and humanity are to be destroyed. We will lose nothing but the useless, evil aspects of our existence.

Modern culture and its poor education are to blame for this state of affairs. Modern societies have sanitised death so that it has been separated from "normal" life. It has been made an unwanted, unspoken artificiality. Even the word is used less, and the process has been euphemised. People no longer die, they move on, pass on, leave us, etc. People now often die alone and lonely in hospices, in geriatric homes and nursing homes, forgotten and unloved. Many die in intensive care wards, where visitations are greatly restricted and where often the extent of medical heroics are far beyond that which is necessary or desirable. Cynics would say they are performed to milk every cent possible out of the insurance fund, and I tend to agree.

People die unnaturally in an unnatural environment. They have tubes in most orifices, and respirators, drains and monitors. Their minds are totally clouded due to drugs and, if they resist, they are artificially pacified. And all of this ultimately to no avail. If they protest too much, some countries such as Australia even have laws by which the patient's opinion is bypassed. They are declared non compos mentis - not of sound mind. Then the doctors can take full control and do what they like.

Most cases do not go to this extreme, but many patients are too frightened to speak up and besides, not knowing better, they are blackmailed by the illusionary hope the doctors always dangle before their eyes. And so it is that time passes in these intensive care wards, and the patients are denied the dignity and elegance of dying in peace. Many would give their all to be allowed to leave and die in peace in their own homes, foregoing the false promise of recovery the medicos pander to them as they use them to practice their skills and technologies, while often oblivious to the real needs of the patient! And this should not be so.

Often the death process is an exercise in (eventually failing) medical technology; one that is apprehensive and fearful for the patient, for the relatives and for many of the medical personnel. It is a cruel exploitation of the rights of the dying person, rather than the pleasant, indeed happy and serene, event that it should be. And this is so because of the fear of death our modern societies have hidden, neglected, failed to confront and not resolved. It is due to ignorance and medical failure in the psychological sense, as in the physical sense.

Death is made to appear foreign, like an unwanted performance, for those not affected by its process who then often show indignation at its existence. It is seen by many as an almost remorseful shame to be forgotten as soon as possible. Is not a dead body hidden as quickly as possible from the view of the "living"? Does this not just compound the fear of death in those who have not faced this fear?

The way Western societies have developed, the fear has been greatly increased, rather than decreased, for this naturally occurring event which is a phase of transition from one mode of living to another in different dimensions. This transition is the process of physical death. Modern societies are desensitised to the true significance of death inspite of reports of the massive carnage of road fatalities, of the numbers killed in wars which we now witness on our TV monitors, of the violence in films and television, and even in many children's cartoons. Death is held at arm's length, and is tolerated, it seems, as long as it does not affect one personally. Most people are in constant denial of death, until it touches them or their family. And then they are in the grip of fear, shock, grief, sorrow and so on. Some even panic and paradoxically suicide to escape the fear of death.

I have found that modern society, modern medicine and its promises of miracle cures have diminished the spiritual and metaphysical meaning and importance of physical death and given those who have not yet awakened in these fields, a false sense of physical immortality. They have done nothing to prepare people for their inevitable physical demise. Indeed, they pander to the very opposite. They bolster the unpreparedness with the promise of a cure for all things and resultant immortality. Some have been taken in by this falsehood and given their diseased bodies to be resuscitated in the future when a cure for that which killed them is found. Those in this aspect of cryogenics are rubbing their hands in glee, not for the fulfilment of the promise of physical resuscitation, but for the growth of their bank balances.

At the hour of death, the promises of physical immortality, gullibly accepted by many, are seen to be false. The modern society and its medicine cannot deliver. And such patients are left to face the full brunt of the fear they thought they would never meet. They now realise they had been fooled all along and this only compounds their grief!

Society expects people to resolve their own fear of death while they are healthy, and as fewer and fewer attend to this, as can be gauged from the falling attendances to spiritual centres and religious institutions, fewer and fewer are prepared for death.

A small section of society is awakening gradually and the call for voluntary euthanasia is now at least talked about in many countries. But resistance is great and doctors have been prosecuted and jailed for providing their patients the opportunity for a good death, one of the patient's own choosing, in their own setting, at their own time, when they, the patients, are best prepared to cope with the process.

I am of the opinion that various legal, medical, religious and ethical arguments put forward in total opposition to euthanasia only highlight the metaphysical and spiritual ignorance of those who oppose it. The ignorance of spiritual matters in many doctors was brought home to me one evening when I was assisting a renal transplant procedure. The callousness of some doctors and their frustrations in the face of death, and their inability to accept death as anything but failure on their part, is highlighted by this experience I had.

A suitable kidney resulted from the sudden death of a young donor in a motor vehicle accident. By early evening, all the legal matters had been settled and the patient who was to receive the kidney was transferred to the operating theatre. The procedure was not simple, and although the patient was a woman in her thirties, her physical condition was poor, a result of constant dialysis, etc. After some hours, during which the vascular team dealt with her renal vessels and the urological team to the ureter and bladder, etc., the patient suffered a massive myocardial infarction and died.

No blood pressure existed. Her heart had stopped. External cardiac massage was tried at first. When there was no response her chest was opened and direct cardiac massage was tried, all to no avail. There was no response. It was then, when it was obvious the patient could not be revived, that the chief surgeon, oblivious to the presence of many others, in obvious utter frustration, and in his inability to cope with the death of this patient, flung his cap and mask across the room and yelled: "What a bloody waste, what a bloody waste!"

All fell silent. The gloom was thick and many were sad at the death of this young woman who seemed to be on the verge of a new physical life. Not one word was uttered in a spiritually comforting sense. The room was a scene of failure. The body was now a cadaver to be thrust into the mortuary as quickly as possible, until burial. There was no sense of the continuity of life, or of the presence of "God", or of the joy of liberation. There was nothing.

The lack of awareness was like a black, cold blanket draped over us all. At that moment I knew I wanted more than this in my life, for all this was a picture of meaningless, failed technology with no real purpose in it. I somehow knew the real picture contained more. The fact that these doctors and nurses could not apparently see beyond the physical and could not acknowledge the possibility of a realm and intellect far greater than theirs was frightening. I did not want to be like them, with such a narrow vision of what life was really like.

Since then, I have seen many, many patients, throughout my years in practice, with the fear of death in them and I was unable to help them. There was nothing I could do. I was not in a position to initiate any conversation to dispel their fears. It was up to them to seek what could be found, what answers there were. Most did not seek. They did not expect personal, philosophical or metaphysical answers to be given by a mere doctor of medicine, and this is a negative aspect in the practice of modern medicine.

I had seen the benefits in those few who had initiated such a discussion and in those who asked a simple question that I was able to answer to their satisfaction. Most had been either programmed or indoctrinated not to seek answers that were available, that could allay their fears and anxieties. And, of course, as doctors we were trained to ignore that fear, even when we saw it, because we were taught our role did not extend to the spiritual aspect of the patient.

But now as a metaphysician, I know that healing occurs, and needs to occur, on all levels of a patient's being -- in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspect.